This booklet of simple eye tests from the 1930s captures a host of assumptions about people and their cultural competencies, from card playing and singing to understanding train schedules and shorthand. The first standardized eye chart is believed to have been developed by Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen in 1862. Snellen’s test of visual acuity set a standardized distance from patient to chart of 20 feet in the United States and 6 meters in Europe. This inexpensive and portable chart has eleven lines of symbols, called optotypes, from a single large letter at the top to the smallest letters at the bottom. The letters are carefully shaped so as to balance the amount of white to black space. Similar charts followed, such as the Lea chart designed in Finland in 1976 that uses objects, like a house or a ring, to cater to children and others who are preliterate.

It is credited Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 1986.0705.03.

You are welcome to make fair use of this image under U.S. Copyright law and in compliance with our terms of use. Please note that you are responsible for determining whether your use is fair and for responding to any claims that may arise from your use.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template: